READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 65 - Wildcard
Chapter 65 Wildcard
* * *
[Notification: You have received a message from ‘SSM Management.’]
[Notification: Displaying the message.]
[Hello, Dice. I am Deputy Kim Shin-woo from the AP Management Department at SSM Entertainment.
To get straight to the point, we have reviewed the wildcard you submitted at the end of yesterday’s scrimmage. However, we would like to inform you that it is currently under internal review and has not been approved immediately.
We understand that this might be confusing as the wildcard is a privilege given to main players. Therefore, we have attached the meeting minutes and script in the file below.
Since you might not have the opportunity to review the entire script and minutes, here is a brief summary:
Username ‘Yoo Jin’ participated a week before the scrimmage ended. The AP Management Division lacks sufficient data to be certain of this user’s ability to consistently produce excellent results.
Although the roster size for each sub-league (third, second, and first) in the AP soloing division is flexible, given the nature of the scrimmage season end, the budget allocated to the SSM Entertainment roster is unfortunately at a stage where it cannot accommodate additional wildcards.
Although an exceptional short-term contract was discussed, it is presumed that the terms could not meet at least one condition that SSM Entertainment could offer, either in contract duration or salary distribution.
Regardless of whether the user is approved, you will be immediately rewarded with a wildcard usage bonus as stated in the contract.
We apologize for this oversight by the AP Management Division regarding the SSM Entertainment roster configuration situation in advance.
Additionally, your wildcard proposal remains at the top of the list, and we will consider the possibility of an external temporary coach or mercenary contract after sufficient data on the user has been gathered through further discussions.
If possible, please remind the user of this during your second consultation. We would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you for always bringing honor to SSM Entertainment.
DICE.］
“…Figures.”
Professional teams do not take risks.
This saying, often heard by those working in the esports industry, always proved its unnecessary value in unexpected places – at least, that’s what Dice believed.
In modern society, one of the most well-known ways to relieve stress was gaming, which meant that professional teams always had a stable and wide pool of talent to recruit from.
However, the pie that teams could offer was limited and not always available.
Moreover, the perspectives of pro gamers and team management did not always align, although sometimes they did.
For those who had experienced Yoo Jin’s skills firsthand in direct combat, the decision was difficult to understand, but the team likely wanted more solid evidence.
The fact that the user had only been playing Apex Predator rank for less than two weeks and had an unclear previous VR FPS play experience were unfortunate issues that skill alone could not entirely resolve.
From that perspective, SSM’s proposal of an external temporary coach or mercenary contract indicated respect for Dice and that they also had lingering interest in Yoo Jin.
As Dice exhaled softly, his drowsiness from the message content dissipated, and he organized his schedule for the day.
There were six days left until the preliminary rank. There was a scrimmage today as well. However, since there was one yesterday, today’s would be slightly delayed.
…Yoo Jin was offline, but despite not being keen on turning pro, they had exchanged phone numbers and engram codes. He could easily get in touch.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that she had no intention of going pro was up for debate.
9:20 AM.
Today’s scrimmage was from 1:30 PM to 6 PM.
“…Ah, my neck.”
Although the second consultation with Yoo Jin was scheduled to take place in virtual reality, neglecting physical self-care would ultimately ruin overall condition.
Being able to assess one’s own condition was a skill required of pro gamers.
Despite the grand talk, it was just a morning shower.
Her morning started in such a manner.
Yesterday was quite a busy day.
To explain in more detail, I had to break out in a sweat explaining to those who picked me during the scrimmage that I was not interested in going pro yet. Not just one or two, but over ten people.
In the meantime, I was amazed by their information-gathering and reasoning skills. They pieced together various information and statements I had made verbally and even mentioned these during the consultation despite this being the first scrimmage they had joined.
Specifically, some teams approached me with the understanding that I was not very interested in maintaining a livelihood or satisfying my desire for fame through broadcasting and turning pro.
In the end, I rejected them all.
Excessive greed always leads to trouble. I haven’t yet fully grasped how much of a burden being a streamer would bring, so making such a decision now would be sudden.
Also, the choice was obviously mine to make. If I had rejected them after reaping substantial benefits from them, it would have caused trouble, but scrimmages were open to anyone with a Tier 2 or higher rank.
Anyway, the preliminary rank – not the tournament rank – was approaching soon.
Regardless of my rejection, I planned to continue participating in scrimmages. Some team members had already contacted me via messages, asking if I would be interested in temporary consulting, debriefing, or acting as a periodical coach.
Whether I joined a team or not, it was beneficial for not just me but for all esports workers in general.
The ones who would probably hate this the most were… about 4,000 loyal viewers who were still waiting for me.
By the way, how should I deliver this notice to them?
Creating a personal community on TreeWiki might not be a bad idea.
As I was briefly sitting in my chair, lost in various thoughts…
Click.
“Ah, have you been waiting long?”
“It’s fine. Please, have a seat.”
The professional gamer who had recently become somewhat familiar and was the only one I contacted personally, who introduced herself as Dice, entered and sat down.
What should I say? The avatar in the VR world was different in some aspects from reality, but in others, it felt incredibly realistic. Her golden hair glistened under the sunlight…
One unfortunate thing was that it was hard to purely admire her since it was difficult to tell if she was a man or a woman at first glance.
The wait wasn’t long, nor was the time taken to get to the main topic.
She opened her mouth with a somewhat apologetic expression.
“…As you might have seen from the message, SSM is going through some tough times. Still, I can’t imagine Yoo Jin going somewhere else.”
“I rejected them all. So, you don’t have to feel too sorry. Things don’t always go our way in life, do they?”
“That’s really true. Sigh….”
Slide.
Thousands of characters that had been floating in the air collapsed with a gesture, floating like glass beads in zero gravity before melting into the air and disappearing.
Dice, who had been groaning with her face buried in the desk, added.
“Anyway, since you saw the message… what do you think about taking on the role of a mercenary or temporary coach? The contract period isn’t long… sigh, would this even work? Other teams are probably offering better terms.”
“…Is it normal for professional gamers to do the management’s job here?”
“Um, only pros who mainly do PVP soloing are like this. Since we play solo games, individual ability and will are more important. The wildcard and pickup culture is an extension of this. Only in this area.”
The conversation continued.
Just as I had chosen her first – or it might be him – she too seized that point and entered the conversation.
I couldn’t say I was particularly sociable, but the conversation we were having now felt more intimate than just a business relationship. It might be because the atmosphere was more private than just conveying the team’s demands.
If she hadn’t been interested in me at all, she would have only conveyed SSM’s demands through a message. What happened afterward wouldn’t have concerned her.
My thoughts wandered.
In any case, it wasn’t a particularly bad thing for me. Whether by coincidence or intentionally, it was always good to have positive exchanges with those who had professional knowledge, and she seemed quite impressed by me.
From that perspective, her proposal wasn’t entirely unacceptable.
“Anyway, I’ll think about the proposal. When do I need to give an answer by?”
“…Huh? It’s not a rejection? On hold?”
“As long as it doesn’t excessively interfere with my daily life, I thought it might be worth experiencing once. It’s a personal curiosity. What kind of mechanism exists in a place where pro gamers or those aiming to be one gather.”
“Oh, that’s… not an expected answer….”
To think that the proposer would be surprised, how low were her expectations?
Leaving behind the doubt whether I had rejected too firmly, I reviewed the key parts of the email Dice had sent.
Since it wasn’t a long-term contract or one for achieving significant results – such as winning – the cost wasn’t particularly high, but it clearly stated that autonomy and convenience would be guaranteed in many aspects, which wasn’t bad.
However, since I couldn’t decide immediately, I decided to make a more definite choice later.
“How’s the team atmosphere?”
“Well… it’s not much different from other places. If I had to point out, it’s just that the scale of the lower leagues operated by the team itself is larger….”
“Lower leagues, as in the second or third division?”
“That’s right, but… I’m not exactly sure. It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but I’ve hardly ever been out of the first division. I’m quite confident in my skills….”
Now that I think about it, she did say she was in the first division.
I forgot about that.
“…If it weren’t for the suspiciously skilled person who suddenly joined the scrimmage, we
would have prepared for the tournament smoothly.”
“Right. Who could that be?”
“Wow. Really annoying….”
She had a pretty dumbfounded expression, but there was nothing she could do about it….
Thus, the next non-question was about my VR FPS skills, and here I had to maintain partial silence.
Even so, curiosity in this area was often regarded as having a ‘unique secret,’ and Dice didn’t ask further and changed the topic.
“Anyway… there’s some time left until the scrimmage, do you have any plans?”
“None in particular. I’ve eaten and was planning to join when the time came.”
“Perfect timing.”
Skillfully, she sent me a message.
It was… a session invitation.
The mission name proudly displayed ‘highest difficulty.’
“…What’s this?”
“It’s one of my undisclosed training methods, running the highest difficulty mission solo. It’s about frequently encountering extremely unreasonable situations and aiming to develop the ability to handle them….”
“I just need to press the participate button, right?”
“…Yes. I appreciate your quick understanding.”
She nodded, and soon the surrounding environment changed.
It might have been because of the avatar, but it felt unnecessarily elegant for an invitation to a battlefield filled with explosions and gunfire.
* * *